Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Right, I used to be fairly laid back about a lot of minor traffic matters but henceforth that will cease.

After riding my motorbike home late last night and watching a pedal cyclist ignore a stop line and a red light to get promptly whacked by a truck, I dashed over to aid the rider, the first words out of his mouth was. " its that fucking trucks fault for not stopping" Jesus..

No.. If I can and it warrants it (ie. I am on foot or pedal cycle ) and I see a cyclist go thru a red light anymore you are getting a ticket. Simple as that

Thursday, December 15, 2005

For the last two years I have been turning up for work and getting in to my nice clean crisp uniform. I am nearing the end of my posting to the prisoner processing team and I have been informed that I will be spending the next year attached to the main office CID unit as a PC!

So this Christmas I have been dropping the hint I need shirts, lots of them.I must say I am looking forward to the challenge and the investigative side of the CID, with any bit of luck it will be less of the volume crime I have been dealing with in the PPT and more interesting stuff.

No doubt I will return to uniform after a year or so, and probably study for my Part one sergeants exam, who knows.

I do feel slighly odd, as I was under the impression that I would have to but in a lot more years to get posted to CID, and it is probably the result of the lager numbers of police officers now in service that "just out of probabtion" officers get chances like this.

I also this month been filling out this as I am no spring chicken, and the house needs paying off, the wife needs to be kept in the lifestyle she is accustomed to and holidays cost wonga :)

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Saturday, December 10, 2005

You what now...When I joined up two years ago and started my training in Hendon I remember a tutor telling me not to worry to much about studying and getting stuff learned off by heart in regard to police powers and only worry about the actual law stuff (you know what is robbery , theft etc) He said they change like the wind.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Oh sweet b****, Aid, what does it mean. Well it usually means getting in to your nice clean crisp uniform and getting in to a back of a van with fellow cohorts and been whisked away to perform a public order role, all be it a sporting event, public gathering, a specific policing role or an operation.I will talk about operations. Getting up before the crack of dawn and huddled into a cramped room with dozens of other officers not necessarily ones you have ever met before and getting a PowerPoint presentation of an operation before the first cup of coffee and bacon sarnine is not my first choice to start the day.

Once all the assignments and the job roles have been handed out and having been given the “aim of to day is to … “ it’s the dash to the canteen for the “operational feeding” bullet beans and toast whoo hooo. (You can feel the love) and then on the bus.

Get to where you are going and get off the bus.Then get back on the bus. Get to where you are going and get off the bus.Then get back on the bus.

You can see where this is going.

Then you get nice juicy jobs like this or maybe even jobs like this which I had the pleasure of last year.

This is a different style of police work. This is public order. This is not your “bobby” on the beat and hey, this seems to be the way the drinking nights seem to be going at the moment thanks to the new drinking laws. Of course we would not want to be soft on crime now would we! And we want to make sure that we don’t want to send out confusing messages to the public who of course all carry forms of ID that makes dealing on the street oh so much easer.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

So like yea, I have been working Friday and Saturday on late turn prisoner duty, dealing with the post arrest of response officers, Its not one of the most favorite aspect of police work however I do enjoy the interviews and investigation of offences and offenders.

This weekend however has been a nightmare.A break down of the work I had to deal with my fellow mukka had

As a result of this as you can quickly work out working weekend on end you up while quite a workload to get shifted before the next weekend on ( 4 weeks rota )Interviews,statements,CCTV enquires,medical statements, photos, background and intelligence checks let alone any housing office or partnership involvement !

Suffice to say it was manic did niggle me was this simple fact.

Alcohol played a part in every single one of these arrests, while none are what would be considered major it was apparant of the role of drink.

Are we going in the right step in 24 hour drinking, I await to see the results.Oh and spare a thought for the A&E doctors and nurses that often get the dirty end of the stick with these things.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

It is clear that we are moving towards a large debate in regards to police use of force and how the public want to be protected.

I personally think that if the police service is to be regularly armed as a whole a radical rethink in regard to the law is required the simple fact is we do not have a sufficient level of protection for officers on the street in law let alone in the event of using a firearm.

As it stands today a trained police firearms officer faces instant suspension from firearms duties on discharge of his or her weapon. They face criminal and civil legal action and these officers have volunteered for this duty ( Some officers face years upon years of legal action based on a split second decision that is picked over and over with 20/20 hindsight )

There a many many stories reported in the news about police and firearms and there use, I could spend a few minutes on the BBC website alone and find loads of relevant links , and people comment on a wild west shoot out if police are armed ! Guess what that already happens with armed criminals

In fact the number of offences involving firearms in England and Wales has been increasing each year since 1997, according to the Home Office.

Firearms incidents recorded by the police have nearly trebled in eight years.Provisional figures released last month showed that firearms offences had increased by 5 per cent on last year (2004) , to a total of 11,160. There were 4,903 such offences in 1997.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

At last the murder of the laurel tree and spruce tree is complete. It took a number of long hours to finish the job up and cut them both into little bits for disposal, as you can see I have only the carcass of the spruce to hide now and I think the neighbor's might have noticed something going on.

I highly recommend chainsaws to all those who need to 'cut up' any evidence but make sure you wear the appropriate safety gear and dispose off any potentially forensic evidence after the fact.

Now with both tree's absent from garden roll call the place will get a lot more sun in the afternoons and looking at the area now it is clear how much space that laurel was taking up. The shed however had a last minute reprieve as shelter for the tools and for me during rainfall at the whole hideous incident, however it has been served with a compulsory purchase order and it too like many buildings in the east of London is doomed to be demolished (In time for the Olympics of course)

Last night while flicking trough the 200 or so channels forced on me by SKY tv I saw my glorious leader Sir Ian Blair on the magic silver window in the corner. It was the Richard Dimbleby lecture and I watched it with mild interest befitting a serving met police officer, I will leave the debate of that to those who can place words more eloquently than I.

Alas I am also without my beloved bike this week as I have loveling placed her in for a service now that winter is clearly here on the doorstep, and I had to avail of public transport again this week. What a nightmare. I thought the rail network was getting better, yes sure the train rolling stock in nicer,cleaner safer and graffiti free, but byheck its still like getting on to a cattle train ! Overcrowded stuffy uncomfortable and degrading. People using the public transport system are still treated like livestock. It got so bad on one set of stairs I had to Identify my self as a police officer and take two well dressed business men aside and give them a dressing down for there pushing and shoving of others as they were in a 'rush' Good ole BTP officers noted the carry on and helped me and gave both a section 5 warning about there behavior and one gentleman remarked to the officer " bollox you cant fucking tell me what to do" and was swiftly taken away for his £80 fine. It appears that simple tact and courtesy is long dead in certain aspects of the gentlemen of London. I am sure he can afford the ticket judging by the Savile row suit

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Hey If your thinking of spending a few quid on cctv for your home or business I have only this one tip - make sure it actually records, oh and can be transferred to some sort of removal media that is in current use. Just a thought .

Sunday, November 13, 2005

This is the first year since I came to the UK, that I will not be in some way be involved in remembrance Sunday I have lived in the UK for over 10 years now and today I will be visiting my old army barracks to pay respects to two good friends of mine that died in Kosovo !

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

By now most UK people will have heard about police powers regarding Stop and search and its recently renamed stop and account recommendation 61 from the Steven Laurence enquiry

For our friends from other realms, The Inquiry found that institutional racism played a part in the flawed investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, notably in the treatment of the Lawrence family and Duwayne Brooks, the surviving victim; in the failure of officers to recognize the murder as a `racially motivated crimeÃ‚Â; and in the lack of urgency and commitment in some areas of the investigation.

Now what is institutional racism, I can tell you that it does not mean police officers are all racist gits! No what it means that the policys and systems that were in place at the time of Stevens death it meant that his murder was not properly assessed as been a hate crime.

I use the term hate crime more that racially motivated, as it covers a lot more than simply race. For me it reflects the right for every body to live their life how they choose and if they are subjected to criminal behaviour purely on who and what they are then that is a hate crime.

Rightly so the report made Met police be more accountable for there systems in stop and search but also better recording of those stops, I do not think I know of any officer who thinks this is not fair and right, and so on to the issue of a drugs search.(Aside from the intelligence asset it then becomes!)

These "stop & search" are governed under the same recommendation general but there is a bit more "uppmh" to them they are not Section One stops but under section 23 of the misuse of drugs act there is a specific offence of obstruction of a drugs search which is an arrestable offence. Under section 1 if you a bit stroppy you will in all likely hood find your self been taken to a police station custody suite to complete the search but on a drugs search you may be arrested.

Even these drug searches should be recorded and now since the met police have changed the procedure again they are now Stop and account forms.What this means is that the police will record every interaction were they stop a member of public and ask them to account for there presence in an area. Now this is different that investigation of crime or a roadside stop where questions to identify and report traffic offenders as these have different powers under road traffic law making it an offence to refuse details, It has got to a point now were young people today are unsure what exactly there rights are.Thankfully it has been left to us officers to explain it all. - Hmmm.

Friday, September 30, 2005

A few days ago I saved up a few penny's and got my self a compost bin.As part of my little effort to be more green and to aid in my plans for a home garden food grooming.

I also had to go buy a garden shredder as I am very lazy :)After shredding all the cut branches and trees in my new garden I also added to the composter the freshly cut grass, for the last few days I have started to add the leftovers and kitchen waste to the composter after using the blender to smash it all up in to a pulp.

The first thing I have noticed is that once shredded all the kitchen waste apparently takes up less space ( crazy ) and that my rubbish bin is a lot smaller !

The composter has started to kick in and is generating heat ! woot !I am at a loss to explain this sudden burst of wanting to me greener and the whole home grown food effort but now I am really excited by it all and I am looking forward to having nice little harvests of crop ! ( I might even have a surplus to give to friends! )

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Prisoner processing team (PPT)Another part of my new duties apparently seems to be manning up the PPT.

What this is in essence is that some where down the line in an effort to keep front line officers on the streets some bright spark though it would be a good idea that when a response officer made an arrest they would take there prisoner to there station and after booking in the prisoner * opps sorry " Detainee" and write up there notes they would hand over the detainee and notes to a PPT officer who would conduct the initial investigation.

That would include getting statements from related parties, interviews , dealing with solicitors and approved adults etc etc as well as placing charges and doing the case papers for court.

All in all it sounds like a great idea until you read the crap statements and notes taken by the response officers it makes life hell.. The real issue I can see while doing this is the "brain" switching off by the arresting officer once he is back in side the nice safe warm station where his or her's brew is on the go ( with or with out optional bacon sarine )

don't get me wrong I love investigative interviews and dealing with cases and getting to the truth of the matter. I just think it should be looked at to see if there is a different way of doing it.

I know of some stations that are on 12 hour shift pattern (24h ) and the PPT officers are on a 8 hour shift pattern which means that in the early mornings the responce officers still end up dealing with there detainees for arrests after 2am and are such not on " the streets "maybe I am rambling out loud and typing this as I think but I believe there must be a better way of doing this ? Having the car operator be the Deputy OIC ? I don't know but it does come down to a numbers game in the end. Do we really have enough officers on response or have they all been posted to hi visibility patrols on foot ??

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

This week I have mostly been looking at the (Fail to attend on police bail ) I have outstanding.

These are a direct result of those who I have bailed from police custody to return at a later date and submit back into custody, who for some reason or another have taken it upon them selves not to bother.

Well the week started off with me doing intelligence checks on all those who I have bailed and possible address and various police checks , followed by arrest packs and risk assements for each arrest inquiry I was about to under take.

All in all there were a total of 5 arrest enquires to undertake.

Having done all the necessary paperwork and made sure I rounded up the "posse" to do the deed, I have spent most of this week knocking on doors at early hours getting every single one of my FTA's soundly asleep in bed .

Yes It did feel good and seeing the faces on those who have FTA for charging who are then sent to court that day realize that I was true to my word when I bailed them and said "If you don't come back I will find you and drag you in myself."

Next week I will be moving on to a major FTA court warrant list and be dragging those who thought the courts would forget all about there "appointments"

Remember kids, if you have a date with the old bill - turn up.Or you will find us on your doorstep when you least expect it.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Well here we are, nearly two years on from when I decided to join the police service.

So far I have experienced things I would never had done in twenty or thirty years in another job, I have saved a life, held hands of lives that slipped away, been at births and been called to sudden deaths of the old and infirm who passed away peaceful.

I have seen violence abuse and terror in peoples faces, I have also seen peace, love and comradeship unparalleled. I have even traveled to Scotland ! (With out a need for a passport !)

I have been to the highest court in the land and have given evidence in a serious crime case, and all the way to youth court for the unruly!

I have arrested a burglar inside the home he was stealing from, and I have had people run away and escape from me.

In all these and many more experiences there is not one that I regret or did not in some way learn from, and the best is I know that there is more to come.

With so much going on in the world and all the disasters and trials, I for one look forward to the challenge of life.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

My thoughts go out to not only those who died in Hurricane Katrina but to the thousands of emergency workers who are working around the clock with out little praise and even more criticism from those leaders above them.

I especially feel for the family's of the police officers in the area, considering most would have been on duty with cancelled rest days and cancelled vacations to be on stand by for the Hurricane and who now 2 weeks are the event are probably the most crabby and stressed out officers left hanging around , and I cant really blame those who quit the job to look after there own families.

What with the national guard now in the region "helping" the effort

The whole issue of how this emergency has been handled has shown that there is no coordination or planning for major disaster in the Us, and this is two years after 9/11. It beggars belief.

What bugs me even more is the flippant remark from a FEMA official about the dead bodies floating about is " the dead cant get any more dead we are here to save the living" well Mr FEMA muppet two weeks after Katrina hit you should be at least removing the bodies so they don't INFECT THE AREA and then you will not have a major health hazard that is now looming in the not so distant future.

Don't even get me started on how crap the planning was / is / continues to be .The phrase could not organize a piss up in a brewery comes to mind!

Saturday, September 03, 2005

In an attempt to be a little more greener in my life and to also cut down on bills and trips to the "ebil" superstore on my motorbike, I have looked at mygarden to see if I can grown some of my own fud !

I had done a bit of research and I realize that we are entering autumn and apparently this is the best time to start to prepare the ground and set everything up for planting in spring !

I plan to grow peas,beans,carrots and inside a small greenhouse I am planning to build grow tomatoes and lettuce ! Woot ! Well to start with.

I will be posting photos of my hard work ! ( har har ) and you never now I might be able to grow weeds at the very least!

I wonder if this means my lunchbox next year will be my own fud ! .. ..

I have had replies to the letters I sent out last week, I knew I would not have the time to properly get in contact with all the injured parties for my designated crimes to investigate and I needed a number of basic statements to pursue the cases and late one night I quickly typed out a number of statements and letters to be mailed for return as the recent abstractions due to the incidents meant I would be standing out side train stations.

Well I must admit the Letters were far more effective than a telephone call or a visit.It appears that people respond more to an "official police letter"

I will certainly be using it more often in the future especially for requests for CCTV to be made available and ready for collection. An unexpected bouns also means copies of the letters can also go with the case files as unused material.

Monday, August 08, 2005

A quick trip away as a break from the madness,I needed to see clean fresh snow and sunny sky's after the drib and drab summer I have seen due to the late shift malarky.

Upon my return I have noted the lack of response to any of my letters or enquires for my beat crimes by the Injured parties or managers of shops regarding cctv. I think I will spend the next few days driving around to chase these people to see if I can progress any. I don't hold up much hope tho. A shame really as it would be nice to bring some of these wrong doers to the courts and put them before the man.

Another impending dread is that I will be moving house soon, and I have to go thru the whole packing and moving palava. Oh joy, anyone know a man with a van ?

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Well I have been on duty every day since my last post.This is the first chance I have had to post anything.

I am tired, cold,wet thru and hungry but a lot of overtime pay is coming my way.Its weird to think of the money earned during these difficult times, and where was it before when we needed it to do the day to day policing before.

I also noted that there was an announcement about the mets forensic lab bill that was in the millions of pounds before the attacks and that we should be looking to reduce it, I guess we found the money.

(less than five) - Five or less days notice to planned overtime aid - Overtime pay rates.

Friday, July 15, 2005

I now know why we take statements as opposed to allowing people to make statements.

After taking about 9 statements in the last two days regarding a number of alleged crimes from the injured parties ( ohh PC Copperfield ! ) It its plain that it is often difficult for many people to tell a story without adding in bits that

a) Did not happen.b) They did not wittiness.c) Complete hearsay.

I do not think it is lying in the true sense of the word and I am sure "they" do not do it on purpose and I believe it is just human nature to tell a good story to who ever is listing but by heck luv it sure makes our life a little hard trying to find out what did happen!

On another note, it is apparent that the filling cabinet is going to be well used as I see on our crime reporting system I have been "screened" in about 15+ crimes to investigate.I am not sure how many my workload should be or how long management reasonably expect me to take to get any kind of result, mainly cause management is not about to ask.

Today after attempting to contact all 15+ of those injured parties I only managed to speak to One over the phone, and a further One was at there home address when I attempted to visit the injured parties, So I had to send letters to the rest in order to make contact and progress with there reported crimes. Lets wait and see who if any gets back to me !

Sunday, July 10, 2005

I had a bit of a surreal night. After getting back from Scotland and been back to 12 hours later floating about the streets of London I could see no change in the public. People were going about there business praying dining out traveling on the tubes' trains and bus's and it becomes all that simple. Life goes on. It has to. It always will. No matter what occurs what dangers and tradigties strike the world still spins and moves thru space and people will get up in the morning and go about there business. This to me underlines the fruitility of so called militant action. It achieves absolutely no gain for those who carry out other than to be a line in history.

Saturday, July 09, 2005

This week has been possibly the most challenging one I have experienced in my so far short spell in been in the police.

My first thoughts are with the bereaved and those affected by the incident.

Before I start I must quietly and with respect applaud the emergency services who acted with bravery and professionalism in London. This could only have been possible with the increase in numbers of the police over the last 5 years and the preperation and training for this very occurance.

Stretched, tired but competent and professional in every effort the emergency services shone in there work over the week. I feel honoured and proud to be part of the same service.

In Scotland we policed not only peaceful protest which is right and proper and protected not only them but the residents of the area but we had to deal with a small minority who were intent on causing criminal damage , violence fear and in some cases willing to physically harm others.

Peaceful protest yes. Violence no.

In respect to the past few days a quote has stuck in my mind that I cant seem to shift

"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world right in the eye."- Helen Keller

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Eh Property lists.Our Inspector issued every one on the team our property lists.These list all the property we have either seized as evidence (Clothing, weapons, exhibits), booked in as evidence (CCTV, Photographs) that each officer has to there name.

Been young in service I had only 50 items on my list and was able to easily reallocate them to other departments / officers :) he he he . As a response officer on team we are not expected to keep any items and they should be transferred to officers in charge of the cases we initially attend to.

One older member of our team had over 400+ items on his list. He was a bit miffed to find the majority of it was difficult to find now who was in charge of those older cases :)

It seems that team Inspectors are often badgered about the amount of property there team holds also about the number of actions on crime reports and number of crimints the team has created, it seems a crude measure of a teams performance

Note to myself - Always include the Cris number on the property bag. It makes life a lot easer.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

One of the best aspects of police work is the inevitable issue of karma

It is a given that what goes around ,comes around at least to my mind and today was karma for a certain customer.

After yesterdays annoyance of a negative foot chase I decided to float around the estate where I last saw my client. It was not long before I was soon graced by his presence and again a foot chase ensued. This time I had the upper hand and a lovely home office approved arm take down was executed and recorded on CCTV for video collection. This particular client is a well known robber and was wanted on warrant for failing to appear at court.

A nice result and arrest for myself.

You can run, you can hide, you might even get away, however karma does have a way of biting you in the ass!

Saturday, June 11, 2005

After a number of foot chases this shift I have come to the thinking that I should leavethem to my operator, with all the kit we have to wear a lengthy foot chase is very very trying. I don’t mind the chase as I am fairly fit myself however after a 20 minute chase that then enters an estate with a multitude of stairwells well… lets just say the motivation to carry on is soon challenged!

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Ah back at work and back having hundreds of emails and correspondence to chase up on! I must admit I don’t mind the paperwork(Shzzz don’t tell anyone I said that.)its quite a feeling to complete a pile of it and know its done and gone

One of such items in the pile were some returned HO/RT 2 formsa HO/RT 1 notice is what you may know as a producer. It is a simple one page form that officer fill in on the road side as a request to produce paperwork in regard to your drivers licence, tax insurance etc and other items in regard to been driving on a road

It is a legal document and you would normally get one following an accident or when a non-endorsable offence has been committed. If your vehicle has a defect, and as a way of checking that a driver holds correct and valid documents. There are parts of the FPN system that also act as HO/RT 1 notices but they will be explained to you on the roadside.

So once been issued with a HO/RT 1 you have seven days to produce your driver’s license in person (both parts) at your elected police station. Failing to do so can lead to prosecution. (Other documents are explained on the rear of the form)

The HORT/2 is completed by the officer at the station where you produce your documents, this form is then forwarded to the officer who issued the original HO/RT 1After a recent accident where a MALE had been knocked of his motorcycle after traveling down a bus lane and had broken his leg was one such recipient of a HO/RT 1 from myself.

He duly attended his local police station and produced his out of date Iraq international drivers license and then also offered an insurance document that did not cover the usage of the vehicle at the time and also upon checking the address I found out he didn’t reside at that address and was using it to reduce his premiums

Of course, this meant I ended up summoning him for a number of those offencesI like it went people think they can pull a fast one and think we don’t check or read stuff carefully - Note to myself to check Immigration status on return tomorrow!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Hi,Thanks for all the comments on the last few posts, I will reply to those shortly. I just got back in from a long haul flight from the otherside of the world after a fantastic holiday away in the sun !I am back to work in a few days time and I will catch up with everything !

Monday, May 23, 2005

Thanks for the posts in regard to this topic;

On this occasion I had been posted with another probationer constable with even less experience than myself!(Now that I drive, I apparently know what I am doing, NOT!)I am going to call this fellow officer Pc Jacks (Old army term)With Pc Jacks as my co-pilot in the fight against crime only due to the complete lack of any other officers on duty this week due to annual leave and rest days and the sector sergeant having a good old laugh at my expense.

We had allocated to attend damage only accident in which the driver of one of the parties vehicles involved had ran off from the scene with out exchanging details. So off we went at a nice respectable no rush drive to the scene. Upon arrival, it was clearly apparent that the accident was a very minor one and that no obvious offences had been committed to cause the collision, however since one driver had taken upon him to bugger off that made things a little different. Of course he left his car (with keys ) and a case of beer on the passenger seat at the scene and a quick check on the old police national computer gave his home address details of the registered keeper as a very local town flat, a few more checks and we were happy to toddle along to see if this was indeed the driver of the car at the time of the collision.

At this point I could see Pc Jacks eager for his first arrest this month and was rabbiting on about police powers and failing to exchange details , leaving the scene , ESd’s and what not ,at least he sounded like he had the idea. I could see a world of pain coming up.

We got to the address of the registered keeper of the vehicle whose driver had apparently made off from the scene and Pc Jacks started to hammer on the door to gain the occupants attention. I lurked off to one side with my asp drawn and held down and behind my leg in the approved home office officer safety method, as I have a rabid fear of people coming out of houses with knifes that I have encountered so much in this lovely inner city estate of sunny south London in domestic incidents.

A shout of “FUCK OF PIGS IM NOT COMING FUCKING OUT “was soon to be heard from inside. I sighed and Pc Jacks looked at me as if he wanted to use his size 9’s in true met fashion and kick the door in and get the “bad guy” I of course persuaded a different course of action and called up for any other units available to attend . I was rewarded by a TSG unit responding as they had just finished there fish and chips in a local!

As the good and dependable TSG arrived so did my sergeant whose look on his face soon imparted his mistake of sending me out with Pc Jacks ( and me soon to be back on foot I imagine ) The TSG and my skipper decided that they were going to go in and get this chap and sort out all the mess now, as they made plans to do the deed, I tactfully pointed out that we had the house keys of the flat as the driver had left them in the car.)After saving the Commissioner a few quid by not kicking the door of its hinges I also did a few further checks that we were not about to run in to some crazed gun nut or weapons freak inside. So the TSG kitted up and were ready to rush in and I got the keys ready to open the door, when an 11 year old girl opened the door to me and invited me inside to “help daddy cause he has got stuck in the kitchen window trying to climb out “

He was stuck. So stuck we had to get the LFB down to cut the window frame to get him out.

Now why had all this happened?

Mr. Stuck had been drinking the night before and was unsure if he was over the limit while driving the following day., (ESD was a Pass) he in a rush to get home and avoid been stopped by the plod had turned up the wrong way against a no entry sign and was turning down back on to an junction to be on the correct road when he ran in to the back of the other stationary vehicle.

He panicked and ran. He also did not have a driver’s license as he had been banned for 2 years for an earlier drink drive incident (Ban elapsed but no retest yet undertook) and as a result didn’t have insurance on the car. The car itself was a rust bucket heap which he told us he bought down at the pub for £100 notes. Of course, no Tax or Mot on this fantastic pub deal. So far, all summary offences with no power of arrest, until it dawned on me that he left his car in the middle of the road and on a dangerous blind turn had committed the offence of causing danger to other road users (Contrary to Section 22a of the Road traffic act 1988)

Pc Jacks had missed his arrest.

At court the following week in regard to Mr. Stuck he stood up before the Magistrate and then proceed to give an account so woefully and pitiful about potential loss of earnings and welfare and state of mental health it was akin to watching Wormtounge of Lord of rings. Then Pc Jacks and I gave our account of what had occurred.The Magistrate came close to using profanity. . They gave him 6 months to think it over, a 2 year driving ban.

Friday, May 13, 2005

I throw this question out to the more seniors out there and those with medical and legal knowledge far in excess of my own. I pose this question.

A member of the public who has been physically assaulted and badly injured flags Pc Plod down.After initial first aid and Ambulance called brief details of incident and necessary details taken.Pc Plod accompanies said victim to the nearest A&E for treatment.Upon arrival victim gets totally unreasonable and refuses medical help or treatment and refuses (almost but not quite to verbal abuse) police assistance in the matter of their assault.Victim then heads out of A&E despite repeated requests, advisements and warnings to get medial assistance.So, what happens next?Where does Pc Plod stand if a few days later victim is found dead at home and once details checked the powers that be find Pc Plod was the last contact with the victim.

Friday, April 29, 2005

I have just finished a two-day course on how to gain entry-using force to Mr Blaggard's house, or as its known by its correct term Method of Entry training, (MOE).I must say, it was fantastic learning how to use door rams and the enforcer as well as other specialist tools to gain entry “Hollywood” style to a venue. So many types of doors and so many types of locks as well as understanding the need to get in quickly and safely the whole legislation and powers and laws in regard to using said force to gain entry was a great refresher for myself.

For reference the main power of entry is under PACE (Police and criminal evidence act) and it states that

Warrant of arrest issued in connection with or arising out of criminal proceedings, for example where an arrest warrant has been issued following the failure of a person to answer a summons

Commitment warrant

arresting a person for an arrest ableoffence

arresting a person for an offence under:

Section 1 Public Order Act 1936 (Prohibited Uniforms)

Any enactment in Sections 6 to 8 or 10 Criminal Law Act 1977 (offences of entering or remaining on property)

Section 4 Public Order Act 1986 (fear of provocation of violence)

Section 76 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 ( failure to comply with an interim possession order)

Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (failure to stop when required to do so by a constable in uniform)

arresting a child or young person who has been remanded or committed to local authority accommodation under Section 23(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969

recapturing any person who is, or is deemed for any purpose to be, unlawfully at large while liable to be detained in a prison, remand centre, young offender institution, secure training centre or (in the case of a child or young person guilty of a grave crime) any other place

recapturing any person who is unlawfully at large whom you are pursuing

saving life an limb or preventing serious damage to property.

Section 18(1) of PACE provides that you enter and search any premises occupied or controlled by a person who is under arrest for an arrestable offence, if you have reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is evidence on the premises that relates to that offence, or to some other arrestable offence which is connected with or similar to that offence.

There are other powers under the Fire act for entry but I though I would cover the biggie above

Saturday, April 23, 2005

I have had a spell of days off these past few daysand have been catching up with mates and people I haven’t seen for quite a bit this of course means that I have mostly been drinking sol larger to large and excessive amounts, its is good.

I also note spring has arrived and the ladies are already in short tops.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

The finest example of physical fitness and an enjoyable day out for many of the fun runners who raise so much money for worthwhile causes that mean so much to many.

This was my first "Aid" day. This meant I was off borough and was allocated to aid local police in crowd and traffic management during this event.

The day was fantastic, bright sunshine from the early hours and during the event clearly shows now on my sunburnt face! Mind you I was wearing my heavy met vest and lovely yellow reflective jacket meant that I too probably sweated as much as the runners! But I know my feet will hurt less!

I was stationed not far form the half mile mark and the crowd was in good nature and cheering on there respective family and friends along.

Then it all went horribly wrong. First even though the road closures are well advertised and local residents well informed regarding roads and times, yet time and time again I had to deal with rude, obnoxious and plain ignorant people in there cars who tired to bully and intimate me in trying to pass trough not only past road cordons but actually wanting to cross the marathon route.

It got so bad at one point I ended up arresting one male under Section 25 for causing an unlawful obstruction of the highway. I was not impressed by this individual who had driven his car forward into our police bollards and was revving his car engine and shouting loudly to “ get out of the wayI’m coming thru you cant stop me.”

Well I did. This male’s action not only put me in danger of injury but also put the health and safety of marathon runners in danger. After his arrest the handy “snatch Squad ! “ read Territorial support group arrived to convey this male to a local police station and I was back to the marathon after 30 mins booking him in and making my notes of his arrest after handing him over to that stations Case progression unit.

Then half an hour after arriving back on my post, one of the members of public close to me passed out with which I though was due to the heat! Sadly not. He was having a cardiac arrest. I must admit CPR is bloody exhausting, and you only note the tiredness when the ambulance arrived.

I went with him to the A&E department, and started to write my notes, more out of fear that the male would pass away and these notes would be valuable to any coroner’s court that may follow. Three hours after arriving at the hospital I was relived to be informed that the male was now comfortable and was likely to get through the incident. The A&E consultant who over looked the case, even stated that he would be sending a letter to my inspector , and the family of the male that my administration of CPR at the scene increased the likelihood of him living. Nice and as head spinning as that sounds.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

The station driving instructor took me out during my tour of duty last night and at the end of the assessment and checks also with the stations inspectors approval I have been signed off and granted the driving status of Basic Plus ..This was more than I expected to be quite honest.What it means is that not only can I now drive the panda;I can also drive an IRV (Incidence response Vehicle) in a non response mode!

At least now I will not get funny looks in the tiny small panda when I get out of it, as they are quite tiny and small for my frame!

Monday, April 11, 2005

I have been buckling down at work over the last few weeks and volunteering for all manner of long boring and unpalatable work going.I have my mobile phone number entered in the little black book for emergency call out overtime and getting stuck in left right and centre all over the station.The reason for all this hard work?

To get my basic driver car check test done.Yes I grow tried of walking the beat all ready - my poor meat plates are in bits!and I quite fancy been more an assets to the team if I am certified to drive at least the panda!

Burglary investigation car posting here I come!

I got the news today that my application has been signed by the team inspector and now I just await the stations assessors email for a date for the check test before the end of the month.

Hopefully this shouldn’t be to difficult and once done and passed I will be out and about in the little panda going to non urgent calls and getting more involved in police work.

Friday, April 01, 2005

I have been studying hard for my ATU exams.In the Met probationers have to sit six further exams and training weeks after Hendon.Pass mark is 75% for each of the exams and you need to pass all six exams to finish and be confirmed as a constable at the end of your two years.

Each week long training set is ended with an exam on the Friday and it builds on further finer points of law and legislation as well as mandatory training.

It’s not easy to study for exams during the working week on the 12 hour shift pattern and I suspect quite a lot of people do exactly what I did and study the week of the training!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

An Irishman who had a little to much to drink is driving home from the city one night and, of course, his car is weaving violently all over the road. A cop pulls him over."So," says the cop to the driver, "where have you been?""Why, I've been to the pub of course" slurs the drunk."Well," says the cop, "it looks like you've had quite a few to drink this evening"."I did all right," the drunk says with a smile."Did you know," says the cop, standing straight and folding his arms across his chest, "that a few road traffic lights back, your wife fell out of your car?""Oh, thank heavens," sighs the drunk. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf."

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

An update in regard to arrest of the drunkard in you’re nicked son, I received the lab results today. As the Intxometer (EBM) was faulty a blood sample was taken.

The lab reported that his levels were 151 mg which is well over the limit. As a result of this I started to prepare my case papers for his subsequent charge when he attends the station in a few days time on police bail.

In order to bring a charge against anyone case papers need to be done and presented to the CPS (Crown prosecution service) who we now work in partnership with allegedly.

So this is how it goes, I prepare and MG3 and an MG5 which are a case summary and presentation of evidence against the defendant and the rest of the case papers which all in all take about 3 hours to do I then dutifully email the CPS saying I am about to Fax over these to them to evaluate and respond with there annotations. I fax over the reams of paper (In this day and age why they cannot accept word documents I do not know) and then I phone back after 20 minutes as per guidelines.I then speak to a CPS person who to be quite honest I haven’t a clue of there position or qualifications as they don’t tell me when I ask as its “Not relevant officer” and then refuse to tell me there name and that “someone” will contact me in the next few hours.

So I um…. Go get something to eat while I await the all powerful CPS to tell me to charge this dunking fool with driving over the prescribed limit, some thing I knew would be the case anyway, however of course I took great pains to evidence the gentleman’s actions at the scene so much so that surprised that I was they were unsure that they might charge him to been unfit to drive through drink or drugs.

I phoned back again after a further hour and they still haven’t decided what to do.

It is now 40 minutes before I have to go home. The defendant isn’t here, he is probably at home asleep, The sector sergeant is giving me the evil eye for been in the station so much tonight, but its ok as we are flush with body’s today and he can see me doing case papers and statements etc, and all I want is a bloody MG3 charge decision for the case papers so I can bung them in to the file and have them ready for when he comes to the station as I will probably be out and about for his bail to return and I want the CPU (Case progression unit) to deal with this silly sausage when he gets back.

Oh I also processed him for failing to observe a red traffic light and driving not in accordance with his licence and not having an insurance policy etc etc. I will be at his court hearing in my smart uniform oh yes!

- Time to go, still no reply another call and I am told I will be faxed the answer in the morning. Gosh that’s really effective use of police time. Bah !

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Ug, the 12 hour shift. That is what I am working now. 7 am to 7 pm / 7pm to 7 am.It is a long slog I can tell you. Of course you are in well before 7 as you have to change and be ready for the daily briefing.If you get to finish at 7 as well you are one lucky plod !

Monday, March 07, 2005

Cheers Dave for the link!A bit of clarity I think is needed for my new visitors.First I am not from the United Kingdom and I moved to the UK way back in 1992, so excuse any, bad grammar and spelling I do spell check my posts in word however I do not doubt the odd error will creep in!

Friday, March 04, 2005

No doubt I will mention Stephen Lawrence and the impact his senceless death has impacted not only the police but the world we live in.It is a topic very dear to my heart for reasons I will not divugle here.I will at some point address the issues but it's magnitude and scale and depth cannot be simply explained away in a few posts.One of my bigest fears on joining the Met would that I would be judged simply on been a police officer and that my race and own ethnicty would simply be ignored or even worse be a cause of comment or a consideration for others.

I am however very relived to only of have very positive experences so far.Todate every police officer I have met have been honest and straight foward people, doing a difficult job in difficult times, for that I am grateful to learn with them.

I will address Stop and Account and the 5090 form shortly and the impact it has on the police and from what I can see of the commuinty.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Ouch, yesterday I dropped my bike of for its annual service and check up after the winter riding and there is a bit to do on the gal.

It looks like I bend the clutch lever when I dropped the bike and the break pads are down to 1mm! and woe of all woes a tooth is missing from the rear chain cam, again probably because of the snow.Bugger and damnation. The bill (ho ho) is looking like £250 quid.

Thankfully I am not back in to work until Thursday as the garage told me the bike will not be ready until Tuesday as the parts are on order.

So that leaves me with a few days in the house doing painting and decorating. Oh joy.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Bystander posted a valid comment on my last blog about defects on motor vehicles and referred to VDRS (Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme.)

I though I might cover that here and what it was about for those who may not have encountered it and may have gotten off with 'words of advice' in the past.

If the defect is minor ( and there is a list ) the officer can offer the VDRS to the driver of the vehicle and if the driver accepts gets a nice little form listing the defect to get fixed within 14 days and sent the form back to the address on the rear stamped from a MOT testing station.

YES FOLKS the vehicle will have to be taken to a MOT testing station to have the vehicle examined or repaired before the defect notice can be removed. That means it cannot be done by your dodgey mate Dave from the pub.

The station will examine the vehicle and verify it has been repaired by stamping the document with the MOT embossing stamp and completing the form for you.

The Met police service (We are working together now for a safer London) operate the above scheme to ensure defects on vehicles are put right and has a bit of paperwork to it to show accountability.

The nice bit about this system is that it gives good old Joe public a chance to fix there defect whatever it may be (within the guidelines) and doesn’t end up in court wasting court time, fees, FTA warrants etc just for the good old magistrate to issue a fine, and often the defect doesn’t get fixed after a court attendance at least this system address that and the unnecessary burden on the courts.

On the way home on my motorbike it was quite a difficult ride.It had snowed quite heavily about two hours before I left and continued to snow on route back. Traffic was heavy and slow and the roads were starting to ice over the now compact snow.

I dropped the bike as I came to a stop near a light controlled pedestrian crossing, cursing my bad luck I gave my beloved bike a swift kick more out of relief of not getting hurt or have it fall on me. I spent the next ten minutes in the cold refitting the chain as it had come of the rear cam. I knew it would be a difficult ride home and was glad to get home safely to a nice warm house and a bowl of soup and warm crusty bread.

What I did note on the way home was the number of motor vehicles on the road that had one or more rear break light not functioning or direction indicators, I know stuff fails, breaks and needs repair but clearly there is a current level of I cannot really be arsed to fix it yet attitude of people on the road. The “yea I was meaning to fix that officer” is a common reply to been shown a non functioning item on a motor vehicle.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

It would be nice if there was a national road safety day, where garages give a discount to fix things like lights, tyres and other consumables for motor vehicles and be tied up with general road safety advice and emissions testing. Just a though.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Today I spent in an IRV as an operator (Incident Response Vehicle), this fine example of Met livered blue light and wailing siren beastie is basically the workhorse of the police.

IRV’s provide the majority of the initial response to a police call, (999) under the direction of the control room IRV’s are tasked incidents to respond to based not only on the location of the IRV to the incident but also mindful of the skill sets of the officers in the vehicle ensuring the best response to any incident makes best use of the skills in the police service.

As operator I was responsible for not only ensuring that any information given over our personal radios was noted for reference on route to the call, but also for the in car computer system that acknowledges the call dispatched to us and for updating that call. I will not go much more in to detail about it as its all techie and very droll but suffice to say it is information technology and enables more effective use of police time and resources. Directions and house numbers noting and keeping a keen eye out on behalf of the driver for non driving related visual items as the driver is fully focused on professional and safe yet speedy arrival at scene is another role of the operator and coupled with the reality that the operator is normally the first out of the car, after all there is little point of the driver getting out and leaving a passenger behind if the car is needed further.

During my shift we dealt with, an indecent exposure, one burglary report a shots fired firearms incident, a serious sexual assault, Three calls to alarms triggered by faults and conducted a number of vehicle checks / stop checks on the mean streets of the borough, as well as been a visible patrol in the area.

I am led to believe this was a very quite night indeed.

It’s quite clear that this level of work is done in a professional and highly motivated and meticulous manner by every body present and the team sprit is totally amazing.

Oh and the cars have heating, something I am glad of after that snowfall.

So like yea with the nice trendy blue plastic tape that comes in the handy huge box option with the optional red version for that extra impact, police cordons and crime scenes are put in place in order to control an area for a variety of reasons but primarily to preserve the scene for forensic, legal reasons and to protect life and limb.

That doesn’t mean you can ignore it and traipse your fat size 11 shoes and push that stupid buggy full of white lightning cider under the tape because you are too fat and lazy to walk around it.

To start with the simple point that your bull headed nature runs the risk of obliterating vital evidence or making its integrity in court questionable resulting in some person not been brought to justice for there criminality, or you risk your swanky ass getting cold dead which is a right royal kafuffle involving reams of paper work for the old bill.

The police in the United Kingdom police by consent. That means we can only do our work with the consent of the community. Give a thought to the family’s and people who are affected by a serious crime and a loved one is injured or dead.

They wish that the persons responsible are brought to justice just like you would if the situation was reversed. So think for a second before you get silly and try to barge your way through, because I can tell you with certainty obstruction of a police officer in the lawful execution of there duty will mean a trip to see the custody officer who has a few forms for you to fill in and you might get a bed at the inn.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

I spent the entire day on a crime scene cordon, and by heck luv it was cold.The soft flurries of snow flakes did far from drift lazily down from the grim grey clouds but more lashed there fury and contempt on my little square patch of cordon.I of course been a smart cookie had found a sheltered point to observe and keep relatively warm but very dry indeed.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Yes we went knocking on the doors at 7am for people who are wanted on warrant for failing to appear at court (FTA)

It was most enjoyable.

Under these specific warrants it was a matter of knocking on the door of an address and speaking to the occupier and if the Identify off any person present was wanted on said warrant they were arrested and detained until the next court hearing which was 10am today :)

All on our list were those who were bailed from court and then subsequently failed to attend on a set date by the courts. The courts then issue a warrant for that person to appear before them.This in turn is set aside for the street duties course and homebeat and ward officers to toddle along to jonnie bail hopper knock on his door and bring him in.

Moral of the story - Turn up for court.

Failure means the old bill turning up and taking you in and you never know what time the warrant will be executed.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Today I spent back walking about.Up and down, left and right.It was cold it was wet it even snowed at one point.

Full length undergarments , long sleeve shirt, jumper & heavy trousers , rain jacket and the lovely yellow jacket to keep me warm, and the met vest. (I hope I don't have to run after anyone because I feel like the Michelin man!)

So with senior in hand we walk up to a stragitc point to observe and monitor a number of road traffic signs and roads.After a few minutes our first of 12 "one way street "To my mind there is no excuse for this on this particular stretch of road.The driver has to turn against two no entry signs and navigate around a traffic chicane with a second two no entry signs and travel about 100 meters up this road to another T junction before a blind turn to where we waited.We could observe vehicles turning onto the road from our vantage point and watch them approach, driver's clearly oblivious to the fact the old bill is just ahead with open arms

Now don’t get me wrong, It is on first glance a little unfair but then it becomes apparent that the people we are stopping are also excise tax dodgers, mobile phone users, no insurance and even on one occasion no driving licence full stop!

The FPN (E) costing £60 quid and 3 points on your licence,and if you don't have a licence it is of to court for process.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

ESD, Electronic screening device. This little baby comes in to play when ever a road traffic collision is attended by police. It also is used if you commit a moving traffic violation and the officer has reasonable cause to suspect you have been driving while under the influence of alcohol.

I used it today.

I was out in a panda as an operator (The dude in the front passenger seat with the map) when I saw a nice looking motor car breeze through a red traffic signal at a bit of speed, of course we followed and done our checks before stopping the aforementioned evil man on the road.

He was laddered. First he stalled the car when getting out of it and then proceeded to nearly kill him self by falling into the path of oncoming traffic. I could smell the alcohol from 6 feet away. He reeked of it. Of course I administer the ESD test and it went right to RED Instant fail.

So goes my first arrest.

What happened next was totally bizarre.

After failing the test the driver reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a small bottle of vodka that has no cap on it and tries to take another drink.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Yes study. I thought I might have broken the back on the volume of study for this lifetime career but sadly it’s dawning on me that is far from the case.I have 6 attendance training units of a week long each with an exam at the end.

Failure results in all manner of evils for the probationer.Some of these include a formal warning on your record, an extension to your probation time and the dreaded of all evils a p45 (don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out)

You see, you spent the first two years as a probationer before you are affirmed in the role as constable, during those two years you are in essence a constable doing the job working away, however every thing you do is monitored, assessed and supervised.

Constant exams, reviews and reports. A folder of all your actions and incidences you deal with as well as my personal assessment of the incident and a review of it. That all gets checked by my line manager (A sergeant)

Who by the way adds his tuppance to that folder.

This is on top of the paperwork I do during the day.

So the books beckon the Theft Act 1968 in all its glory requires rereading tonight.

So the puppy walking begins proper, I am tasked to a senior officer (only 2 years!!) To be shown the ropes so to speak.I spent the better half of the morning finding my way around the nick.Custody suite, Interview rooms, CID and et al.More importantly I found the bathroom, showers and the holy canteen.

It seems to me the majority of the paperwork in this job is done in the canteen,furious scribbling between bites of bacon rolls, sausage and egg brekkie is clearly evident. Multitasking at its finest.

More introductions and picking up my locker keys & parking permit.

Then it’s out on the mean streets. Thankfully my boots are well broken in by the marching about in training college or I would have had sore feet by now.

4 hours with out a break getting to know the main roads at least and the major postcodes of the area around the station. My A-Z tucked in my back pocket getting well thumbed as I am asked directions to.

As I’m new the Station control room take little bit longer to respond to me on the radio, I take no offence by it they are a busy lot and once I have been a bit longer I am sure my name will be well known, Now is that infamy or a good thing. It remains to be seen.

My first incident a road traffic collision (They are termed collisions not accidents).This turn of events involve me now sending of a collision report to the area traffic division. Collection of CCTV in the area with the accompanying statements and a process book to report one of the drivers for various traffic offences.All in all this takes me about another 4 hours to do.What happened I hear you cry?

Car 1 was parked on double red lines. Driver of car 1 was a provisional licence holder driving unsupervised and with no L plates. Car 2 was driving along the road when Car 1 apparently pulled across the road to perform a U turn and Car 2 collided with the rear driver’s side of Car 1.

Lucky no one was injured. What happens now to the driver?

He will appear in court and no doubt I will and the other driver – sounds like a fun day out to me but then I don’t face getting banned or a fine.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Well what an intresting start.After turning up for my first shift and settling down in the briefing room with a warm cup of coffee in my paws nodding to people who I will be working closely with over the comming months and years I feel like I am back at traning college.

New faces, new names, new worries.

The briefing is detailed and comprehensive of whats been going on in the locality in the last 24 hours, I am sure there is little point in my attempt to take it all in and with time I will get the hang of it.

First the introduction. If you dont like public speaking police work aint for you bud.Its old hat now down to 3 minutes my entire life until now.Each and every time I say my Introduction to a new group it gets a little more worn.

Then the meeting.Meet the skipper ( Seargent )Meet the Gov' (Inspector )Meet the Boss ( SuperIntendent of the nick )

Each parting wisdom and words of advice to me the young blood,the fresh face, the eager beaver .... the sucker for all the crap jobs to come.

Every body in this work starts and the bottom and to be honest I am looking forward to it.A chance to work from the ground up, and earn the respect and trust of my coherts in crime.